Week 10 Bears Preview: Fields Looks to Tame Lions in Divisional Battle
With momentum seeming to finally be on the Bears side, an opportunity to make a real statement appears in their first showdown with Detroit
The Detroit Lions will always hold a special place in Justin Fields’ heart because that is the team against whom he got his first career victory as an NFL quarterback.
Fields completed 11-of-17 passes on his way to racking up 209 yards in a 24-14 win in October of 2021.
A year plus down the line the Chicago Bears and Fields are in a different spot, with a little more pep in their step.
Fields is fresh off a 187-yard performance that earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, he has to know he has an opportunity to do much of the same against a weak Detroit defense.
Even though they have won only once in their last six games in 2022, confidence is at an season high for the Bears, particularly for their offense.
Down Under
With the Vikings sitting pretty atop the NFC North this is one of several battles that’ll happen within the division between two teams that could either finish second or last.
The Packers, Lions and the Bears all have 6 losses through the first half of the NFL season. Detroit currently sit at last in the division (2-6) due to their having had a bye week prior to Green Bay and Chicago, who are each 3-6.
In fact, just as the Bears are entering this game with a confidence boost due to the recent offensive explosion, so are the Lions, for different reasons.
Detroit hosted Green Bay last week and delivered a significant blow to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, defeating them 15-9. The Lions started off this season scoring often and losing but their formula was turned on its head in an effort where the defense made most of the big plays.
Following a hot start on the offensive side, in which they scored at least 24 points in the first four games of the season, the Lions have managed 16 points or less in three of their last four, but two of their better performances have come in their last two outings, with a four-point loss to Miami coming prior to the Green Bay win.
To Defend or Not to Defend
The Lions now face a Bears defense with a lot to be desired, but one that came up with some clutch stops late in their loss against the Dolphins.
Both teams enter Week 10 in the bottom half of the league with points given up. The Bears have given up the eighth most points in the NFL (216), while the Lions have allowed the fourth most (234).
This game is going to come down to whose defense makes the least amount of mistakes, and there will probably be an abundance of mistakes made between the two.
The Deadline
The NFL’s recent trade deadline saw the Bears trade away defensive stars Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith. The Lions were in a similar position of selling assets.
Detroit gained headlines at the deadline in one of the biggest deals from the final hours prior to it, when they dealt tight end TJ Hockenson and a pair of fourth-round picks to divisional rival Minnesota in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick.
Like with the Bears deals, the Lions were faced with a difficult decision in unloading a proven talent, but pulled the trigger anyway on a deal figuring the move would help them in the long run.
The loss of Hockenson brought on the loss of one of Detroit's most talented young weapons. At 25 years old, the University of Iowa product had racked up 186 receptions for 2,058 yards and 15 touchdowns in just over 3 seasons in the Motor City.
Last Sunday, in his debut with the Vikings, Hockenson showcased his skills with 70 yards gained on 9 receptions. So let's just say the Bears are glad they won’t be seeing him this upcoming Sunday, though a date in the regular season finale awaits.
Super St. Brown Bros
Though the Lions no longer have Hockenson at their disposal, they aren’t without talented targets for quarterback Jared Goff. Amon-Ra St. Brown is chief among those targets.
At 23 years old, the 2021 draft pick is trying to build on his rookie year in which he caught 90 passes and accumulated 912 yards with 5 touchdowns.
This year, Amon-Ra started off hot, catching 24 passes and scoring three times in the first three games of the season as well as recording at least 64 yards in each of those contests.
Since September opposing defenses have started to key in on him, holding the former USC star to a total of just 12 receptions in his last three ballgames. Regardless, don’t expect Goff to stop targeting him, especially in this game where Amon-Ra will not only be focusing on a divisional rivalry, but also a sibling rivalry as his big brother, Bears wide receiver Equanimous St. Brown, will be across the field from him.
“He does everything well. He's a solid wide receiver all-around,” Equanimous said on Thursday when asked to give a scouting report on his brother.
“He can block, run routes, catch the ball. So we’re for sure going to have to scheme him up. (Detroit has) a good offense, we have a good offense too. So we’ll see who’s gonna be better.”
The Bears and Lions kick off Sunday at Noon at Soldier Field.
Bear Tracks
Cornerback Kindle Vildor has been ruled out for Sunday’s contest after injuring his ankle in last week's loss to Miami. Rookie Jaylen Jones will start in place of Vildor.
Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad is also ruled out with a knee injury.
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson is listed as questionable due to an oblique injury that kept him out of practice on Thursday and Friday.
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Weather: 36 degrees, sunny
Saul Rodriguez is WARR Media’s associate producer and lead Bears reporter